1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus having a function for acquiring image data by reading the image of a document, and an image processing system to which a plurality of such image processing apparatuses are connected. More specifically, the present invention is related to an image processing apparatus and image processing system corresponding to an allocation reading function for allocating and reading a document among a plurality of image processing apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional image processing systems to which a plurality of image processing apparatuses are connected are provided with an allocation reading function for allocating and reading a set of documents among a plurality of image processing apparatuses. Such systems are similar to, for example, art for allocating and reading documents among a plurality of scanners and integrating the image data on a server (Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2000-224369), and art for integrating a plurality of image data read from scanners on a personal computer (Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2000-125087) and the like.
The following problems arise in conventional allocation reading. When a document is allocated and read, the image data read by each image processing apparatus must be integrated. In the conventional art, in order to integrate image data read by allocation by a plurality of image processing apparatuses, a server must be provided to integrate the image data read by allocation by each image processing apparatus, or an operation must be performed to specify the integration destination image processing apparatus for each image processing apparatus.
Regarding the relationship among image data read by allocation, e.g., when a document is allocated and read by three scanners, there is concern that the integrated image data may be unsuitable if detailed conditions (such as reading mode, page sequence after integration and the like) are not specified when the three sets of allocated image data are read.